Perfect Storm: One last obstacle before reaching Rome

Acts 27:22 “But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.”

This chapter gives an eyewitness account of an ocean storm, the once-in-a-decade kind of storm that survivors never forget. Dense clouds blot out the sun and stars for many days and nights; the entire shipload of 276 passengers and crew goes without food for two weeks, and no one knows whether the passengers will survive to see another day. No one, that is, except the apostle Paul.

Prisoner in Charge

Luke vividly depicts the onboard frenzy: sailors lashing ropes around their groaning ship, the crew heaving precious food supplies and even the ship’s tackle overboard, Roman soldiers with drawn swords halting the sailors’ save-our-own-necks escape attempts and preparing to slash their prisoners’ throats. In the midst of all this hysteria stands the apostle Paul, calmly foretelling what will happen next. God has promised him he will visit Rome, a vision has confirmed it and Paul never doubts it, even when the boat breaks in pieces around him.

Once more Paul reveals himself as a man of unassailable courage. The Roman centurion surely recognizes it: He grants Paul extraordinary privileges and protection. By the end of the storm, everyone on the ship is following the advice of the unflappable prisoner from Tarsus.

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